Sexual Violence In Latin America And The Caribbean Takes Center Stage At The Inter-American Commission On Human Rights

10.26.17 - (PRESS
RELEASE) Human
rights advocates for reproductive health, child and adolescents and human
rights advocates testified this week in Montevideo, Uruguay on the failure of
governments to condemn sexual violence and provide access to justice for
adolescents and girls.

The
Center for Reproductive Rights was one of 11 organizations that spoke this week
before members of the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) – a
principal human rights body for the Americas.

Every
year roughly 185,000 women and girls experience sexual violence, yet only 11%
of cases are reported. A declaration signed by more than 100 organizations was
presented at the hearing that calls on the Commission to hold states
accountable to ensuring that human rights-based policies are in place to
provide access to justice of survivors of sexual violence and ensure girls and
women can exercise their sexual and reproductive rights.

Said
Catalina Martínez Coral, regional director for Latin America & the
Caribbean at the Center for Reproductive Rights:

“Too
many young girls and women who experience sexual violence are oppressed,
stigmatized and denied access to justice.

“Survivors
of sexual violence should never feel alone or silenced and it’s time for states
to provide channels for women and girls to get the medical services and support
services they need without fear.

“The
Inter-American Commission on Human Rights must call on states to take
meaningful action to prevent sexual violence and prioritize reproductive health
and rights.”

At
the hearing, video testimonies[2]
depicted the harsh reality survivors of sexual violence face. The lack of
reproductive health services worsens these effects, perpetuating other forms of
violence and discrimination. Girls must endure the burden of unwanted
pregnancies, unsafe abortions and a higher risk of contracting STD’s/HVI.
Carrying to term pregnancies has harsh effects on girl’s health. For example,
according to the World
Health Organization[3], teenage pregnancy is one of the main causes of
maternal and infant mortality.

The
declaration presented at the hearing calls on the IACHR to recommend states to
adapt current policies as well as adopt policies to prevent cases of sexual
violence. The declaration specifically calls for the elimination of legal and
administrative barriers to sexual and reproductive health services and the
development of specific protocols to provide redress for victims of sexual
violence, including reparations.

In
2015, the IACHR heard the case of Paola
del Rosario Guzmán Albarracín[4], an Ecuadorian teenager who was sexually
abused repeatedly by her school’s vice-principal and later committed suicide
after discovering she was pregnant. The Center and local partner Centro
Ecuatoriano para la Promoción y Acción de la Mujer (CEPAM Guayaquil) filed Paola Guzmán Albarracín v. Ecuador
before the Commission in September 2006, in order to hold the Ecuadorian
government accountable for its failure to address sexual violence in schools
and to ensure access to justice for sexual assault survivors. This case is
still pending.